Is Sharia – the Islamic law - a kind of judicial system that is confined only to speedy system of justice or it is the name of tribal customs that will become a yoke of tribal social norms for the people of Pakistan?
If it is just a version of judicial rules regulations that will help the society to get rid of the dying judicial system of Pakistan then definitely its imposition will not affect the common people as our people have the experience of living with the type of Sharia in Arab states, but if Sharia means imposition of the rules which Taliban had imposed in the Afghanistan and some parts of Pakistan, then definitely it will terrify the people of developed areas of Pakistan in general and liberals in particular.
If Sharia means that people will be punished for keeping songs in memory cards or will be killed for making videos of marriages in their homes then definitely it will terrify the young generation. If Sharia means that a man cannot move around bareheaded and a woman cannot come out of their homes then definitely it will try to break the very fabric of the societies developed in the large cities of Pakistan. If Sharia means that a couple which have dared to marry against the will of their families, will be killed so definitely it will create a rebellion in the young minds.
If Shaira means that instead of educational qualifications facial appearances will become basis for merit then definitely people will run away from their homeland. If Sharia means that a person will not be able to go along with his wife wearing fashionable black burqa (veil) then definitely people will prefer to migrate from these tribal societies.
The people of Pakistan have seen the Sharia models of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Taliban. The dilemma is that the people in Pakistan who are chanting the slogans of Sharia are mainly the fundamentalists who emerged during Jihadi period of Afghanistan. When common Pakistanis hear the word Sharia so consciously or unconsciously they start imagining the role model of Talibani Sharia in which music is prohibited, women cannot come out of their homes to purchase items of their daily use, use of electronic gadgets like computer and TV is prohibited, men will have to keep some special facial appearances and women will have to use a special kind of veil and the most important aspect where head of the state is chosen for life time.
How Sharia will be better than the present setup it is still not known. Who will control the state after imposition of Sharia? The contemporary political parties or Taliban? What will be the future of the present-day political parties? What will be the future of legislative bodies? What will be taught in educational institutions? Religious education or modern technological and management sciences?
What will be the foreign policy of Pakistan? Pakistan first or we will have to oppose USA, India and Israel every where in the world? What will be the policy of Pakistan regarding immigration and emigration? Will we allow the people to come in Pakistan without visa and vice versa? Media will be allowed to criticize in the same way or it will have to move under the yoke of restrictions? Minorities will be safeguarded or beheaded even on minor issues? What kind of rights women will enjoy and what kind of life they will spend?
These are the questions that I dared to ask from the people who are chanting slogans of Talibani Sharia in Pakistan. Without clarifying these questions the demand of Sharia will only create a fear and frustration in the society. The people who are really sincere in imposition of Sharia in Pakistan must come forward to answer these questions; otherwise the slogans of Sharia will be no more than just a mental relief for them and a nightmare for the common Pakistanis.
Questions like these have created social problems for liberals in Pakistan and even few are killed but will their murders clarify these questions? Will their murders pave way for the imposition of Sharia in Pakistan? Will their murders convince the common Pakistanis to demand the imposition of Sharia?